


Malfunction

by MischievousBellerina



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avenger Loki (Marvel), F/M, Fluff, POV Loki (Marvel), Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 11:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19333381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MischievousBellerina/pseuds/MischievousBellerina
Summary: Loki is on a mission to fix his "Anger Correction" bracelet, a gift from Tony. Its programmed to send him little jolts when his heart rate is rising, usually due to his anger. But what if its sensing more than just anger...?





	Malfunction

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this [imagine](https://latenightlokifantasies.tumblr.com/post/185760278830/imagine) on @latenightlokifantasies' tumblr.

“Tony!” Loki stormed into the Stark lab, interrupting electrical surgery that Tony was performing on a small object that he hadn’t the faintest clue as to what it was for. All he knew was that the little device the _genius_ had come up with to wear on his wrist was giving him a headache. “This blasted device of yours is malfunctioning! I just spent TEN MINUTES ON THE FLOOR!”

Tony looked up, mid _zap!_ to the peculiar looking gadget and gave him a blank look. “Well, have you tried turning it off and back on again?” Sarcasm dripped in his tone, something totally like him. And it was something that set off the bracelet again, sending those annoying little jolts into Loki’s body. Nothing annoyed him more than Tony’s confusing Midgardian quips and blatant lack of respect toward a god like himself.

The joke went right over Loki’s head. He raised his eyebrow questioningly before his eyes closed briefly at the slight pain, a gruff sigh passing through his lips. “I _can’t_ turn this idiotic piece of machinery off myself, otherwise I wouldn’t be having a problem!”

Loki ignored the fact that Tony was now struggling to keep still as he laughed at his ignorance to his joke. Tony attempted to compose himself, clearing his throat and holding back a smile as he set down his tools. “Alright, Lokester…” He began with a sigh, getting up from his stool and walking over to the flustered god. “What seems to be the problem?”

He lifted up his wrist to show Tony the bracelet that currently had a blinking light, indicating that it was active, “This damn bracelet seems to occasionally go ballistic! One moment, it’ll be fine, and in the next, it’ll start sending these unbearable shocks into me!”

Tony frowned, grabbing hold of Loki’s arm and twisting the bracelet around on his wrist to get a good look at it. “Nothing _appears_ to be wrong with it, the sensors are all still intact. And it’s waterproof, so it rules out water damage…” He glanced up at Loki, who had his lips pressed in a thin line as the jolts began to subside now that Tony was being less irritating. “When does it seem to begin going haywire?”

“Hay-- _what_?”

Tony chuckled, shaking his head. “ _Ballistic_.” He mocked, using Loki’s earlier term to describe the device’s example of its malfunction.

Loki frowned as he thought about it for a moment. “It’s the craziest thing… It seems as if… It’s whenever that peculiar girl is around.

Tony laughed at that, “What could a harmless fly like that do to ruffle your feathers?”

“That’s the thing, she just shows up and within minutes I’m on the floor in the most unbearable pain! It doesn’t stop until she leaves! There is most certainly something wrong with it. I want you to fix it immediately!”

A knowing smile slowly crept onto Tony’s face. “So, let me get this straight. You’re completely normal, but the moment she walks into the room, it gets triggered?”

Loki sighed, “It doesn’t _get triggered_ Tony, it doesn’t work! Could it be because I’ve mastered my ability to--”

“T-Tony?” Your timid voice enters the room and they whipped their heads in your direction.

"Oh dear…" Loki whispered as you came into his view, his eyes zeroing in on the way you nervously rubbed your wrist and how your bottom lip was caught between your teeth.

“Have you figured out what the problem is?” A concerned look was plastered on your face and Loki’s eyes widened in fear as you started to walk closer to them. Sure enough, the device began to flash and the strong zaps returned, shocking his body and making his jaw tense as he endured the pain once again.

“Stop where you are, you insufferable girl!” Loki’s voice rang out as he slammed his eyes shut, hissing through his teeth as the pain worsened. “Don’t you see that you’re the reason this bracelet keeps doing this to me?!” His voice slowly raised, causing you to jump.

“M-Me? Wh…” You stuttered, a look of pain overtaking your features as you watched Loki clutch the table, his whole body gone stiff. "I'm so sorry!" You began to back away slowly before rushing out of the room with tears in your eyes.

Loki sighed, both in irritation and relief as the device began to dull its punishment, slowly reducing back to tiny jolts. He didn't mean to snap at you, but if you could just stay away long enough for Tony to fix this thing...

Tony just stared at him with a grin, which didn’t help with Loki’s emotional state _at all_. “What? I told you this is what happens! Don’t just stand there, take this thing off so you can repair it!”

Tony opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but ultimately closed it and chuckled before fishing into his pocket for a small key that he had pocketed on his way over, in case he decided he needed to take the bracelet off. “I’ll try my best, but I think it works just fine.”

“Have you gone mad?” Loki asked, frowning deeply.

Tony looked up with a grin as he unlocked the device and removed it from Loki’s wrist. “Some would say that, yes.” He held it up, “I’ll take a look at this though if it means you’ll leave me alone. I'm a very busy man.” He walked over to the table and Loki followed, intent on watching him work.

After about an hour or so of tinkering with it, Tony sighed, setting the bracelet down on the table. “That’s it, Loki. I’ve exhausted everything. I did every single thing you asked of me. There is nothing wrong with this device.”

Loki shook his head, “That’s impossible. How do you explain it, then?”

Tony shrugged, “I don’t know what to tell ya, Lokes. Maybe you should have a one-on-one with Mr. Emotional down the hall, he might have an answer for ya.”

Again, the joke went completely over his head. Loki’s blank stare made Tony roll his eyes, “ _Bruce_.”

“Oh.” Loki crossed his arms and rested his forefinger and thumb against his chin in thought. “Dr. Banner… Yes, he might be able to help me.” He grabbed the bracelet and turned around, abruptly leaving the room without another word.

“You’re welcome!” He ignored Tony’s sarcastic shout from behind him. He was on a mission. Perhaps Dr. Banner could come up with some sort of solution. He seemed smart for a mortal. Unlike Tony, who turned out to be absolutely no help at all with this issue.

When he entered the doctor’s room, he announced his presence, “Bruce!”

The spooked man spun around and let out the deep breath he had taken. “Loki. What can I do for you?” He glanced down at the bracelet clutched in the troubled god’s hand and gestured him to sit.

Loki shook his head and came to stand in front of him, holding out the bracelet. “Tony suggested that you might be able to assist with my… problem.”

“What, with that?” Bruce pointed at the device between Loki’s fingers. “Tony knows I’m not that good with that stuff.” He shook his head, “I can’t help you with this.”

Loki’s brow furrowed, “Surely there must be something you can do.”

“I'm afraid not. But out of curiosity, what seems to be the problem with it?”

“It keeps going off at times that it should not! At times where I haven’t even felt angry.”

“I discussed its function with Tony when he created this for you, it's not only when you get angry, but when your heart rate goes up."

"You could be angry, nervous, scared…"

Loki raised his eyebrows, "Do I look like I scare easily?"

"Well… I do seem to recall Tony saying that you--"

"I was _not_ scared. That monstrous green beast of yours is three times my size and he picked me up by my foot!"

Bruce chuckled to himself and Loki crossed his arms bitterly, rolling his eyes. The was one of the rare times where something bested him and the memory of that day was something he rather not think about.

"So then what, Loki? You're saying its been going off randomly by itself, nothing provoking it?"

“Yes, that is exactly what I’m saying!” The device clutched between Loki’s fingers sent him a little jolt, causing Loki to wince and look at it with a scowl before tossing it onto the table, away from him.

Bruce glanced at the device, then back at Loki suspiciously, "And Tony checked it himself?"

"Yes, I spent an hour with him in his lab while he practically took it apart and put it back together."

He was silent for a few moments, seeming to be deep in thought before gesturing to the stool behind him next to the table. “Have a seat there for me.”

Although Loki did not know what the doctor was planning, he obeyed in desperation to find out what could be causing this to happen. He went over to his desk, opened up and drawer and closed it, returning with some sort of rubber tube with metal pieces on each end. “What in the nine is _that?_ ”

“It’s a Stethoscope. It gives me better hearing of your heart beats.”

Loki scoffed, “Well, if you were a god like me, you could hear it _without_ a silly contraption like that. Trust me when I say, my heart is beating perfectly normal.”

Bruce rolled his eyes, “Well, I’m not a god, so… Bear with my _inferior_ way of listening to your heart. Can you please remove your, uh… tunic… thing?” He sat there awkwardly, watching as Loki’s tunic shimmered away, revealing his bare chest.

"May I ask why you find it necessary to check how well my heart is beating?"

"Maybe there's nothing wrong with the device." He put the end pieces into his ears and pressed the diaphragm to his skin over his heart.

Loki scoffed, “For the record, there is nothing wrong with my body.”

“Shh!” Bruce hushed him, listening carefully. Silence filled the room as he concentrated on Loki’s heart beating at a steady pace, just as he had said.

"Loki…?”

At the sound of his name, Loki shifted his attention toward you. There was a shy and vulnerable look to your features and he took them all in greedily. Your hesitant steps forward, the way your hair tucked behind your delicate little ear on one side, showcasing a large portion of your neck.

Loki noticed there was a pounding in his chest as you drew nearer, causing him to frown in confusion.

Loki opened his mouth, but held your hand up to stop him. “W-Wait, before you say anything… Just hear me out.”

Loki closed his mouth, eyeing the device, which was lying on the table. It was calm, not blinking or buzzing against the surface, despite how close you were to him now.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Bruce looking between the two of you. Was he feeling what was going on to him, too?

Loki was starting to piece it all together. He thought about the times since he got the device and you had been the one variable that had set the damn thing off so intensely. And now that the bracelet was no longer attached to him, it was silent, unlike his heart which was beating erratically still.

“Look, I _know_ that you hate me, but I just wanted to--”

“Hate you?” Loki cut you off and for the first time in a long time, he felt a little flustered at his realization. Bruce took this as his cue to pull himself away from Loki and sneak off, to give the two of you some privacy.

“I don’t hate you.” He stood up from his seated position and walked toward you, narrowing the gap between you even further until he was standing right in front of you. He watched as your eyes swept across his chest, the way your throat jumped from your swallow and he found himself smiling.

“You don’t? But I thought that…” You trailed off, scrunching up your nose as your eyes traveled over to his bare wrist.

“Oh, that?” He nudged his head over in the bracelet’s direction, still abandoned on the table.

“Yeah… It only goes off when you’re upset, right? And it always went off when I was around, so…”

Loki waved his hand, dismissing your thought. “Like I told Tony, it was a malfunction.”

"Oh…" A blush crept onto your cheeks.

Loki's gaze softened at the sight of your smile. "I apologize for the misunderstanding... and for yelling at you. That was insensitive of me. You didn't know what was going on and--"

You shook your head, letting out a lighthearted laugh. "It's okay! I'm just glad that's all it was." You glanced at the bracelet once more, "So, you're done wearing it then?"

"I am. It's done more harm than good, so…"

"Good. I don't think you need it anyway."

"You don't?" Loki coughed, trying to cover up his surprise. "And why is that?"

"Because I don't think you have a problem, in my opinion. Tony has just as short of a fuse at times… and _Bruce?_ " You laughed, "If you ask me, he's got the shortest fuse of us all! He turns into a green giant, for goodness sake!"

Loki laughed, unable to stop himself. Sometimes you said the funniest things and… he really found himself enjoying it. Enjoying being around you. He must have missed this realization from being distracted by the device going off.

"Anyways, I'm glad you figured it out and you're free from it." You gave him a bright, genuine smile and silence stretched between you as you started at each other. For the first time in a long time, Loki wasn't sure what else to say…

"Try asking her out!" Tony whisper-yelled from the door.

Loki shot a glare towards the door and waved his hand, making the door close to give them some privacy. The nosy bastard.

He cleared his throat and let out an awkward chuckle. "Right. Well. Um… Would you like to go and… get some of that ice cream you're always going on about?" Immediately after he said it, Loki wanted to take the words back. That had to be the dullest idea he'd ever heard--

But your eyes seemed to light up as you gave him an excited nod, "Sure!"

Loki's smile returned. "Great."

"You might want to uh…" You cleared your throat, pointing subtly at his still exposed chest.

He smirked, "What, you don't like looking at my chest?"

You flushed, "It's not that… I just…"

Loki laughed, enjoying the way he had you flustered. "I'm teasing you." His tunic shimmered back on and he held out his arm. "Shall we?"

You wove your arm through his, avoiding his gaze. "Yes, I'm ready."

Norns, he was going to have fun with you.


End file.
